Series Info

About Carrera Cup

As one of the region’s best sports car series, Porsche PAYCE Carrera Cup Australia is set for a bumper 2019 season.

In 2018, new Pro and TAG Heuer Pro-Am drivers to the championship came in conjunction with the successful introduction of the new Porsche 911 GT3 Cup car. Born on the 911 production line in Stuttgart, the second-generation 991 series 911 race car was faster, safety and more affordable than its predecessor, and proved in 2018 to improve the overall racing experience for Carrera Cup Australia's teams, drivers and fans trackside.

Carrera Cup will also continue to race at Australia’s largest motor racing events, beginning the season at the popular Adelaide 500 and Formula 1 Australian Grand Prix events and concluding with the iconic Bathurst 1000 and Gold Coast 600. Adding to this mix a return to the Townsville 400 means that the 2019 season will feature at five high-profile events. The remaining three events will be held at the picturesque Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit, the ever-popular Hidden Valley Raceway in Darwin and The Bend Motorsport Park, which was a hit to drivers and fans alike after Carrera Cup's debut at the new Tailem Bend circuit in 2018.

And in 2019, Carrera Cup will be more visible than ever. Exclusively on Formula 1 and Supercars events, every race of the season will be broadcast live in Australia, while the addition of the Townsville 400 to the calendar means that races from five of the 2019 season's eight rounds will be televised on free-to-air television.

As the championship is owned and operated by Porsche Cars Australia, the brand ensures Carrera Cup is run at the highest standard by Porsche’s in-house motorsport team.

Full fields, tremendous racing cars and some of Australia’s best Pro and Pro-Am sports car drivers… Be sure to follow the Carrera Cup Australia championship in 2019.

Television Schedule

Carrera Cup Australia enjoys one of the best television broadcast packages in Australian motorsport. In 2019, every race of the championship will be broadcast live on Fox Sports or Network Ten - and in some cases, both. Between practice sessions, qualifying and all racing, over 30 hours of Carrera Cup content will be broadcast across Fox Sports and Network Ten. Click here to download the Audience & Exposure Guide for the 2019 Carrera Cup Australia season.

Round 1

Adelaide 500

Session

Fox Sports

Network Ten

Channel ONE

Practice 1

Practice 2

Qualifying

Race 1

Race 2

Race 3

Highlights

Round 2

Formula 1 Australian Grand Prix

Session

Fox Sports

Network Ten

Channel ONE

Practice 1

Practice 2

Qualifying

Race 1

Race 2

Race 3

Round 3

Phillip Island 500

Session

Fox Sports

Network Ten

Channel ONE

Practice 1

Practice 2

Qualifying

Race 1

Race 2

Highlights

Round 4

Darwin Triple Crown

Session

Fox Sports

Network Ten

Channel ONE

Practice 1

Practice 2

Qualifying

Race 1

Race 2

Race 3

Highlights

Round 5

Townsville 500

Session

Fox Sports

Network Ten

Channel ONE

Practice 1

Practice 2

Qualifying

Race 1

Race 2

Race 3

Highlights

Round 6

The Bend SuperSprint

Session

Fox Sports

Network Ten

Channel ONE

Practice 1

Practice 2

Qualifying

Race 1

Race 2

Race 3

Highlights

Round 7

Bathurst 1000

Session

Fox Sports

Network Ten

Channel ONE

Practice

Qualifying

Race 1

Race 2

Race 3

Highlights

Round 8

Gold Coast 600

Session

Fox Sports

Network Ten

Channel ONE

Practice 1

Practice 2

Qualifying

Race 1

Race 2

Race 3

Highlights

Live Sessions

35 Sessions

25 Races

7 Highlights Episodes

Live Races

21 Races (total)

12 Races (free to air)

Content

17.5 Hours (Fox Sports)

6 Hours (Ten)

7 Hours (ONE - highlights)

30.5 Hours (total)

The new 911 GT3 Cup

The Production: Resolutely one line. The 911 represents over 50 years of motorsports history. And a major contributor to over 30,000 racing victories. Every Porsche 911 is also the platform for a pure-bred race car – the 911 GT3 Cup. Entirely in keeping with Ferry Porsche’s dream: to create a sports car capable of winning on the race track. The 911 GT3 Cup and the 911 have more in common than the three legendary digits in their name.

They originate from the same production line from Porsche principal production facility in Zuffenhausen. It is only once they are fully assembled that their paths diverge. The Porsche 911 GT3 Cup receives its finishing touches in Porsche Motorsport’s headquarters in Weissach so that, ultimately, it lives up to its calling: uncompromising performance on the race track.

360° View

Classifications

Pro

At the front of the Carrera Cup Australia field will be drivers competing in the Pro class. Consisting of some of the country’s best sports car drivers, the Pro class is for experienced drivers, many of whom either have had, or have an ambition to forge, a career in motor racing.

In the Pro class you will find several drivers who have enjoyed a professional career in top-flight racing championships, including the Supercars Championship, as well as young up-and-comers who are eager to use their experienced rivals as a benchmark in order the prove their ability in identical 911 GT3 Cup race cars.

Drivers in the Pro class, unlike their TAG Heuer Pro-Am counterparts, do not have access to the 911 GT3 Cup’s ABS system in dry conditions.

TAG Heuer Pro-Am

Carrera Cup Australia is just as much about the Pro-Am racer as it is of the drivers competing for outright victory.

The Pro-Am class, which has again attracted its long-term partner TAG Heuer, is exclusively for semi-professional race car drivers. These drivers do not seek to make a profession from motor racing nor do they seek to earn an income from racing duties. Instead, the Pro-Am racer consists of business leaders with a willingness to race sports cars. Or more specifically, the Porsche 911 GT3 Cup.

These experienced drivers will receive the assistance of ABS throughout the 2018 season, something not afforded to their Pro-ranked counterparts.

Endurance Cup

About Endurance Cup

The Endurance Cup debuted in 2017, featuring three long distance races across the final three events - Sandown, Bathurst and Gold Coast. A change in race formats across several rounds has ensured more racing laps and an increased number of long distance races, expanding the popular Endurance Cup from three races in 2017 to six 45-minute races in 2018.

The inaugural 2017 Endurance Cup provided a thrilling conclusion in the Gold Coast, with Alex Davison and Andre Heimgartner equal on points after the three races, while a countback of results also failed to split the duo - each scoring a 1st, 2nd and 3rd place finish. Davison was crowned the Endurance Cup Champion for recording the first race win. Meanwhile, consistency proved key for ultimate TAG Heuer Pro-Am Endurance Cup Champion, Marc Cini.

Endurance Cup Champions

Alex Davison

Outright (2017)

Marc Cini

TAG Heuer Pro-Am (2017)

David Wall

Pro (2018)

Stephen Grove

TAG Heuer Pro-Am (2018)

Junior Programme

About Junior Programme

Porsche Cars Australia and Michelin Australia have joined forces to launch one of Australian motorsport’s most extensive driver development programmes, providing total benefits of up to $300,000.

The Porsche Michelin Junior Programme Australia supports seven young drivers across Australia’s two Porsche one-make series – GT3 Cup Challenge Australia and Carrera Cup Australia – providing all Michelin Juniors financial support by way of entry fee support and an allocation of Michelin race tyres, along with access to training, mentorship and education throughout the racing season.

The Porsche Michelin Junior Programme Australia will consist of two teams – the GT3 Cup Challenge Junior Team, consisting of three drivers, and the four-driver Carrera Cup Junior Team.

Driver Bio

Darwin native Thomas Maxwell brings European open wheel experience to Carrera Cup Australia, racing in both the British Formula 3 Championship and Formula Renault Eurocup before returning to Australia to compete in the Porsche one-make series.

Maxwell will be one of the four Michelin Junior drivers competing in the 2019 Carrera Cup Australia series.

Driver Bio

Cooper Murray is one of Australia’s brightest young sports car drivers, standing out as an incredible talent during the 2018 Porsche Michelin GT3 Cup Challenge Australia season, where he ultimately placed second.

Murray will race as one of four Michelin Juniors in 2019 in the hope to replicate the career pathway of GT3 Cup Challenge graduates, former Carrera Cup champions and now-European based Porsche drivers Matt Campbell and Jaxon Evans.

Driver Bio

Canberra racing driver Cameron Hill chose Porsche power for the next phase of his career, announcing he would undertake a full-time campaign in the 2018 Carrera Cup Australia series following a stint in the Toyota 86 Racing Series.

The 21-year-old demonstrated his talent ahead of his Carrera Cup debut, winning the coveted Australian Formula Ford Series in 2015 and scoring more race victories than anyone else in the Toyota 86 Racing Series during 2016 and 2017.

Hill was also announced as one of four drivers that form the Carrera Cup component of the Porsche Michelin Junior Programme Australia.

Driver Bio

Jordan Love made his Carrera Cup debut at Sandown in 2017 just one week after securing the outright GT3 Cup Challenge title at Phillip Island. Following the title win, Love announced a three-round initiation into Carrera Cup and an eventual full-time series entry in 2018.

Love was also named as an official Porsche Junior driver at the start of the 2017 GT3 Cup Challenge season, becoming only the second driver to be the recipient of the Jamey Blaikie Scholarship.